In the UK, summer is upon us and the weather gods are indicating that it is going to a pleasant one. A great reason to trot out the Pimm's, cucumber sandwiches, lie about on picnic rugs and turn a blind eye to the bare white beer bellies, all in the company of delightful noders.

It has been five years since the last London Park Nodermeet and seven since the first. Considering both of these nodermeets has resulted in noder marriages, it is time to test a theory, all scientific like. The theory is that a park, with sunshine and noders may cause love.

According to one of Britnoder's huge mathematical brains, wntrmute, we have a good chance of success. "With the small sample space of a pair of nodermeets, and noder romance being infinitely more mysterious than celestial mechanics, I'm thus happy to apply the rule of succession and declare the probability of a third marriage to be 3/4."

This all in the name of science, honest, guv.

When? Saturday 25th July 2009, from 1pm until the sun goes down.

Where? Regent's Park. Just in from the Chester Gate on the outer circle. Close to the Regents Park tube station. Map of the park can be found here, lower right corner is our destination. Message me for my phone number if you intend to get a little lost. I am aiming to have some sort of flag flying so the group is locatable. See below for the Plan B.

Weather: We are hoping for good weather. Plan B is to decamp to the Yorkshire Grey, not far from the park, a Sam Smiths pub that does food. A table will be booked and announcement about the change placed here.

Why?: Well, to prove a theory and for me to celebrate five years since landing in Blighty.

What(to bring): Food, drink, rugs, picnic hampers, Frisbee, cricket bats, umbrella and sun screen. Sharing ones bounty will be encouraged. (Gin soaked may just need some testers for their picnic food.)

Who: Noders, friends of noders, lovers of noders, new noders, old noders in short if you have read this, come along.

Update!! At the moment the weather is changeable. If you are going, message me and I will give you my number, then text me and I will text you on the day if we are going to the pub. At the moment the plan is to Picnic!

Those who are daring to test the theory.

La petite mort – Successful in previous trial.
StrawberryFrog - Successful in previous trial.
The Debutante - Laboratory assistant.
sam512 - computing the algorithms.
spiregrain - charming the agar.
BaronWR - wrangling the bacteria.
Nadine_2 - annoying the test animals.
fondue - putting the results into binary.
Wntrmute - calculating the equations.
Andrew Aguecheek - polishing the test tubes.
krimson - squinting at the geometry.
DTal - tweaking the numerals.

The control group

Hazelnut - lab rat
BaronessWR - white mouse

Those who can not stand the science.

tentative - sabbatical
wertperch - secondment
dimview - leave of absence
junkill - retreat

Crash space for out of towners can be arranged.

Nadine_2 is in need of some floor for his body to rest upon. Offers to him or me.
sam512 is also in need of crash space. Offers to him or me.

So, Valentine's day is around the corner, and as usual, my plans were to stay in and moan to whoever was online about how none of my coupled friends are up for a drink. But, this year, it will be different! The other week, somewhere in Covent Garden, I found myself drinking with The Debutante and BaronWR. In this aristocratic and unattached company, a plan was hatched. The plan involved wine, food, and explosions. In other-words, the plan was to hold a nodermeet!

The plan is elegant in its simplicity. Noders who, whether intentionally or through the capriciousness of the global populace, find themselves unattached this Valentine's day are cordially invited to spend the evening in the cheerful company of their fellows who find themselves likewise.¹

The Debutante has offered to open her London house and serve warming, hearty dishes, and requests dietary requirements via /msg. There will doubtless be alcohol (and presumably non-alcohol) in various forms. The entertainment will be provided by DVDs featuring thrilling chases, daring-do, and gratuitous explosions. BaronWR has mentioned the possibility of a Wii. You are welcome to bring your own drink, DVDs, and hookers anything else you feel we shouldn't be without.

Obviously with two weeks yet to run, this guest list is provisional and subject to change, but as long as you are single on Valentine's Day 2009, you will be very welcome. Directions can be provided by /msg or other forms of electronic communication.

Hosts

The Debutante, a debutante
BaronWR, a lord
Andrew Aguecheek, a knight

Guestlist

Sam512, a power
DTal, a colonist
Hazelnut, a squire
Katrina, a lady
arieh, a gentleman (Well, we're hoping so, anyway. DEB.)
shouldhavenodebetter, an earl
fondue, unannounced

---

¹As DEB rightly points out, those excluded from the guest list are going to be busy anyway...

The tallest building in Great Britain is was One Canada Square... Wait, what?

I too was rather shocked what I found out that too. It’s rather rare for landmarks to be named after other countries, even if we do happen to share a monarch. Probably due to this fact, the tower is oft referred to as the Canary Wharf Tower, after its location. While it is not the only tower located at Canary Wharf, it is still the tallest.

In the skyline, it easily catches the eye. A square monolithic structure of stainless steel and glass, it towers over its neighbours, and is topped off with a distinctive pyramid. The pyramid is made of stainless steel, and is lit up at night. It can be seen from over 20 miles away.

---

Construction on the building commenced in 1988, and was completed in 1991. It houses 50 floors, and depending on who you talk to, it is either 800 ft or 771 ft tall. The 800 ft claim is made by the building owners, whereas the 771 ft number is found on the official aviation charts. Either way, this is still tall enough to be granted the title of tallest building in Britain, for the time being. The Riverside South building, also at Canary Wharf, is slated for completion in 2011 and will be slightly taller than One Canada Square, at 774 ft, and the Shard London Bridge which is slated for completion in 2012 will tower over them at 1017 ft.

Update: Andrew Aguecheek says re One Canada Square: Possibly worth an update - the Shard is now the tallest building in Great Britain, and indeed the EU.,/p>

One Canada Square primarily houses office space, with some limited retail. Its total floor area is 1,238,000 sq ft, and the majority of the building is leased out. There is some shopping in the basement, as well as a link to the Canada Square shopping centre, as well as links to public transit. The basement and the lobby are the only parts of the building that are open to the public.

The tower was built by Olympia and York, with the primary architects being Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects. Olympia and York filed for bankruptcy in 1992, due in no small part to their inability to keep the building full, as part of a general downturn in the London commercial property market. But, eventually the market recovered, and One Canada Square’s fortunes, along with the rest of the Canary Wharf development, was boosted by the extension of the Jubilee line of the London Underground, which added a stop in Canary Wharf in 1999. The building is now owned by the Canary Wharf Group.

---

The tower was the target of an attempted terrorist attack in 1992, when the IRA tried placing a van rigged with a large bomb near the building. Fortunately, the detonator on the device failed, and there was no damage caused. However, this event led to stricter security in the building, including the closure of the observation deck on the 50th floor.

Now-a-days, One Canada Square is one of the primary financial centres of London, and by extension, the world. Over 9,000 people schlep to and from work at One Canada Square on a daily basis. We shall, of course, have to see how the ramifications of the global credit crisis of 2008 affects the fortunes of its occupants.

---

Sources:
Wikipedia. "One Canada Square," Wikipedia, the free encylopedia. 13 Nov 2008. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Canada_Square> (13 Nov 2008.)
Wikipedia. "Canary Wharf," Wikipedia, the free encylopedia. 12 Nov 2008. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Wharf> (13 Nov 2008.)
Canary Wharf Group plc. "One Canada Square," Welcome to the Canary Wharf Groupl plc website. <www.canarywharf.com/mainFrm1.asp?strSelectedSubmenu=Buildings&strSelectedArea=Estate> (13 Nov 2008.)
Skyscraper Source Media. "One Canada Square, Greater London," SkyscraperPage.com. 2008. <skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=88> (13 Nov 2008.)

Five years in the noding, I present:

A Cambridge Nodermeet

21st June 2008

Picnicing, punting and pubbing in the ivory towers

---

The place

Cambridge is best known for its university (founded in 1209 by scholars fleeing from rival Oxford), which has produced any number of eminent figures, and important discoveries. It's also one of the prettiest towns in England, and one of the nicest places to spend a summer's day. It's also been my home for the last four years. Sadly, I'm shortly moving to the Big Smoke, but before I left I thought I'd invite all you noders over for a chilled-out weekend indulging in a few typically Cambridge pursuits.

The plan

The plan is simple: From 11am I shall be sitting in the Eagle pub in the centre of Cambridge. It's probably Cambridge's best known pub, and supposedly where the structure of DNA was first scribbled on the back of a napkin, so it seems like a good place to start. Once noders are gathered, we will head out, via the shops, and enjoy a picnic by the River Cam (bonus points for anyone who brings anything homemade). When we're all sufficiently fortified, we shall charter punts and go punting, which, for those unfamiliar with the term, is an excellent way to waste an afternoon by chartering a boat and trying to go somewhere by the most inefficient method possible, while drinking Pimm's and eating strawberries, and doubtless making wise and interesting comments on the issues of the day. It's worth remembering that people do occasionally fall in while punting, so don't wear anything that can't withstand a dousing with cold water.

To finish up the day, we will explore many of Cambridge's fine drinking establishments, in a meander through a variety of pubs (with an emphasis on decent beer, history and a lack of loud music), picking up dinner at one of the better ones.

The practicalities

Cambridge is reasonably well connected with the rest of the country by the usual selection of rail, road and coach. The station is (apocryphally) some distance out of town to prevent too many students succumbing to the hedonistic temptations of London, but fifteen minutes walk takes you straight to the centre of Cambridge. Those coming by car are reccommended to use the park and ride areas that surround Cambridge, as parking in town is scarce and expensive. Of course, if you're coming, msg me for my number in case of any problems.

Secondly, I am unfortunately still a penniless student, so accommodation with me is limited: my floor is large enough to accommodate several noders, but it's in a shared house, so facilities are somewhat limited: msg me if you need crash space, but I can't guarantee it, I'm afraid. For those on a tight budget, there's a not-hugely extortionate youth hostel, details of which can be found here, alternatively, there are numerous hotels in the Cambridge area.

UPDATE

Unfortunately, the weather forecast is not good: the weather for the last few days has been distinctly variable, so it could be anything from blazing sunshine to heavy rain: pack accordingly. We do have an alternative plan for rain: we'll take a wander round Cambridge's museums, and probably start the pub crawl a bit earlier.

Secondly, The Debutante has kindly offered to cook a roast for noders still around on Sunday: she's based in Newmarket, which is a short train/bus ride away from Cambridge. Msg her if you're interested.

The people

As if the prospect of a weekend in one of England's prettiest towns isn't enough to tempt you, there will also be the company of many of the finest Britnoders:

Cantabrigians

• BaronWR: Professor of unnatural sciences
• Andrew Aguecheek: Reader in misleading cases
• The Debutante: Chair of teapot studies
• Wntrmute: Professor of cruel and unusual geometry
• sam512: Regius Professor of Chronology
• La petite mort: The Librarian
• StrawberryFrog: Dean of unusual facial hair

Vacillators

• sloebertje
• Noung
• krimson

Oxonians

• Dimview
• Junkill
• voltaireontoast
• Heisenberg
• TheLady
• Andromache01

PS. Anyone who fleshes out the punting node so that it doesn't appear to be an obscure sexual fetish will receive my eternal gratitude (real value: 1 pint).

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.

Samuel Johnson

London is one crazy, beautiful city. She started as a mile square and grew to be the first city with over one million inhabitants. She's been obliterated by flame and pestilence. She's been bombed and mobbed. But she's as constant as the Thames flowing through her. It's taken me a great many years to feel anything that might resemble affection for her, but I have always respected her. And yes, London's definitely a she. So when Junkill announced his intention to pay the Britnoders a visit, I leapt at the opportunity to see what I could organise.

However, London's a very expensive city. In fact, according to some clever economics-y types, London is the second most expensive city in the world, after, believe-it-or-not, Moscow. Doubtless she seems excruciatingly expensive for anyone outside of the M25. Inside the M25 is bad enough. So that our guest of honour wouldn't be economically crippled and in the hope that other people would join the party, I set about organising the cheapest meet in London I could. Thusly, I present to you:

London for free or at the most the cost of a one day travel card.

It's about seeing as many interesting aspects of London as can be managed without spending any money, or passing out from exhaustion. And being me, there'll be lots of history involved. That's why we'll be meeting by the bronze statue of Boudicca not very far from Westminster tube station, and we'll move forwards in time from there. You can expect a few monuments, some bridges and boats, maybe a church or two, and possibly even a cemetery. In traditional nodermeet fashion, we'll finish in a pub. (But that bit won't be free. Sorry.)

This is going to involve a lot of walking, and possibly some time on the tube, so you'll need to be prepared. It's also April, in the UK. The weather will be about as predictable as the Grand National: I'd advise layers, with something waterproof on top. As for lunch, I'll be bringing my own. It'll be Pesach, which means that I can't eat out. I'm inclined to suggest that other people do something similar, but if there are vehement objections we can rethink it.

Interested? 11 a.m., Saturday 26 April 2008. By the statue of Boudicca. I'll be the small one with the rucksack, comfy shoes, and A-Z.

Junkill will be the bewildered looking American.
Andrew Aguecheek will be the one that used to have long hair, but doesn't anymore.
Dimview will be the excited one.
Sam512 will be the one looking for the time machine.
Hazelnut will be the one doing a good impression of Boudicca.
Heisenberg will be the one who joins us later.
BaronWR will be spotting cool things to occupy him when he moves to London.
voltaireontoast will be breaking her nodermeet virginity.
Wntrmute will be the one with the entourage.
DTal will be the one with the calculator.